Shenandoah University is extending its enrollment deposit deadline for admitted first-year students by two weeks due to ongoing delays with the federal government’s rollout of the revised Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Students now have until May 15 to commit to and submit their deposit to Shenandoah, allowing students and their families extra time to review their financial aid options. Traditionally, those deposits are due May 1.
Shenandoah’s decision comes as delays continue to plague the U.S. Department of Education’s rocky rollout of the new FAFSA. Recently, the Department of Education announced additional errors were discovered in FAFSA data that was sent to institutions across the country last month, prompting the need for the education department to re-process and resend a portion of Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) to schools.
“FAFSA Simplification delays and inaccuracies from the Department of Education, including unknown errors and recently uncovered calculation mistakes, have impacted colleges and universities nationwide. Here at Shenandoah, our priority is ensuring our future Hornets and their families have the accurate financial aid information they need,” said Shenandoah University Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer Courtney Jarrett, CPA. “Extending the enrollment deposit deadline to May 15 reflects our commitment to providing clarity and support during this uncertain time, ensuring students can make informed decisions with confidence.”
Prospective students who have not yet filled out a FAFSA for 2024-25 still have time to do so. The application form can be found at studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa. Shenandoah University recommends that all students complete the FAFSA.
While Shenandoah has begun sending out financial aid packages for incoming students, the process has been slowed as the Office of Financial Aid has needed to conduct intense reviews of each FAFSA due to the number of errors present in the data received from the Department of Education.
Students who have been accepted to Shenandoah University can submit their deposit whenever they’re ready to do so by the new May 15 deadline. Doing so will allow students to proceed with additional steps, such as filling out a housing application, signing up for summer orientation and registering for Fall 2024 classes.
“Finances are a very crucial part of the decision about where to attend college. While we have remained hopeful that we would get the information from the Department of Education to make financial aid packages possible for our students in the time they need them, we continue to receive updates that indicate FAFSA results are not accurate and that any errors cannot be corrected until late April,” said SU Director of Student Financial Services Karen Bucher. “Shenandoah’s Student Financial Services team is dedicated to reviewing each FAFSA record to send out an accurate financial aid package. Therefore, changing our enrollment deposit date to May 15 is the right decision to allow for the Department of Education’s processing delays so that students and families can navigate their financial aid options with the full picture in hand.”
Shenandoah University continues to communicate important updates related to the FAFSA online at su.edu/financial-aid/how-to-apply-iug/fafsa-updates/. The Office of Financial Aid can be contacted at finaid@su.edu.
